F.E.A.R. Online Opens Up For Beta Registration

It’s been a while since the F.E.A.R. series has popped up on anyone’s radar, but it looks like the fright-filled first-person shooter is ready to once again rise from the grave and haunt a brand new audience as a free-to-play online shooter. And, yes, the horror elements will remain intact. Boo!...See? Loads of horror.

According to Aeria Games, “F.E.A.R. never dies,” as the publisher gears up to launch the beta phase for its newest online shooter based on the popular last gen game bearing the same name. During the days of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the F.E.A.R. series was all about tense first-person shooting action mixed with poop-your-pants scares. While some shooters have an edge of horror to the, like the original BioShock, for instance, F.E.A.R. has always been about all-out terror, mixing bloody deaths and scary sequences pulled straight out of ever Japanese horror movie ever created.

According the Aeria, the alpha phase resulted in quite a bit of player feedback that has been plugged into the latest build of the game, which players will soon be able to experience in the F.E.A.R. beta.

“Player feedback from the alpha was taken into account to ensure an even better and more terrifying experience for all players when they hurtle into the beta,” reads the statement from the publisher. “Extensive redesign and adjustments to the gameplay make for a truly unique FPS, with new maps, a new scenario and a redesigned crafting system which allows for making one-of-a-kind weapons.”

That all sounds well and good, so here’s hoping that the team has actually managed to keep the scares plentiful. I’m not entirely sure how well the F.E.A.R. formula will plug into an online shooter, but it doesn’t sound like we have much longer to wait in order to find out.

“Tension will reach a boiling point as the F.E.A.R. task force investigates Armacham Technology Corporation’s unsettling experiments,” continues the press release. “F.E.A.R. Online will remain focused on several team combat modes spanning over 10 ominous maps packed with grotesque details such as still-twitching bodies hanging from meat hooks and messages smeared in blood.”

Okay…so…it sounds like my concerns about keeping the creepy atmosphere have been addressed. Also, rather than being a player vs. payer shootout, it looks like the F.E.A.R. Online model will be more akin to, say, Warframe, where players build up their own character and then take them into maps that pit them against an enemy-filled environment. Actually, the more I think about it, the more this sounds like it could actually work.

For those looking to take part in the beta, keys will start going out soon in preparation for a May 26 launch. To sign up for the blood-soaked action, just head on over to the game’s official site and get registered.